


Sleep

by princetestified



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Parabatai, Storms, alec is a bit strange, boys cuddling, jace falls asleep everywhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 23:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4119187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princetestified/pseuds/princetestified
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"... his grip on his parabatai did not lessen, remaining resolute until morning, when Maryse made the rounds to wake one of her boys and instead found two."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> first thing I've written for TMI! I don't remember when I wrote this, either, but I felt I did a decent enough job on it. please, enjoy!

Jace curled up in his selected armchair by the fire, bare feet pressing against one arm and his back occupying the other, a novel cradled in his tilted lap. As evidenced by its worn paperback cover and yellowing pages, it was a well-loved volume, and he easily flipped to his favorite section; the book yielded passively to his demands, falling open without any further motions. Thus, he settled in for an evening of leisurely reading, a surprisingly peaceful task for Jace, as a storm raged outside. Thrashing itself against the darkened and waterlogged windows of the Institute, its spring-like chilliness offset by the warmth of the hearth, the rain did not seem to bother him in the least. The heat and colors of the fire threw him into a passion-colored relief, irises mirroring the flames in a burning gold, his hair unparalleled even by that of angels painted by renowned masters. As he licked pale lips, the chip in one of his incisors showed, flashing a quirky, cocky imperfection on an otherwise picturesque face. A rumbling boom of thunder sounded deep in the distance.

For quite the while, Jace was ensconced in his book, lids weighted down with hundreds upon hundreds of words in a familiar typeface, long lashes brushing against angular cheekbones by the time the clock struck one. Though most of it had left, tension still knotted strong but slender shoulders; despite this, his entire body's strength was waning. In a matter of moments, he was asleep, head tipped back, pale throat and Marked chest exposed by a loose-collared shirt. He snored faintly, the sound mostly drowned out by the still-audible thunder just outside the drenched and dripping glass.

An iconically messy, dark head peered around the doorway, only to find Jace lying slack in his armchair, partially upright due to the positioning of his legs. Alec sighed gently, blowing several inky locks out of his face in the process, then padded over to his supine _parabatai_ on equally bare, silent feet. He pried the novel from his clutches, feeling, as always, that slight spark of contact due to their bond, an unrelated flare of butterflies, and a chaser of intense adoration. Then, as gentle as ever, he scooped up Jace into his arms as a fairytale knight would his princess -- though Alec's mind immediately went to a less-than-desirable image of his sister in the cold arms of Meliorn, or perhaps Simon in fullblown Dungeons and Dragons gear -- and straightened, setting off for Jace's room. Though his _parabatai_ was certainly heavy, he wasn't letting it deter him in the least. Jace was a warm, welcome weight, familiar; his red-smudged lids fluttered, their color a sign of recent sleep deprivation. Alec's chest tightened in an expected surge of worry. Was Jace shirking rest in favor of other things?

Of course he was. Alec mentally scolded himself for asking such a stupid, albeit silent, question, trudging along the storm-darkened corridors of the Institute. He bumped open Jace's door with his hip, one partially exposed by ragged and loose jeans, then slipped into his dark room, laying him on his bed. The bare trickles of moonlight from the hallway provided little illumination as Alec untucked the covers and draped them over his unconscious _parabatai_ , momentarily reveling in their chilly softness. Jace, he noted, must have washed them recently. Unable to bring himself to leave just yet, Alec sat on the edge of his _parabatai_ 's bed, maternally smoothing curls bleached pale by the moonlight from his face.

"Don't get sentimental on me now," muttered a sleep-distorted voice. Alec started, vivid blue eyes widening as Jace turned over, unconsciously nuzzling his thigh. "Either go to bed or get in mine."

The eldest of the Lightwoods couldn't stifle the blossoming splotches of pink in his pale face, but nevertheless crawled underneath the blankets, letting his companion move around and adjust the two of them as he wished. By the time they were comfortable, Jace was neatly meshed against Alec's back in blatant spite of the few inches of height difference, one arm over his and their hands shamelessly clasped together. The sheets were entangled around the both of them, providing a measure of warmth from the chilly spring night, the smell of detergent familiar and numbing. Jace nuzzled the nape of the dark-haired boy's neck, feeling him shiver and squirm, barely hearing his mumble of protest. In retaliation for this, Alec loosely entangled their legs, his huff of triumph miffed.

Had his eyes been open, Jace would have rolled them, but he instead settled back down and let Alec simmer in his minuscule victory.

The storm continued to wage pointless war outside, though it was slowly waning, its thunder thrown sporadically, as if it were an unbalanced sword wielded by an amateur. It continuously disturbed Alec in erratic intervals; every time a clap loud enough to be heard sounded, the taller boy was gripped by a split-second tremble. Without fail, Jace found himself tightening his grasp in a visceral reaction every time he felt him shudder, though he could never remember Alec being brontophobic. Nevertheless, he attempted to comfort him in this way, pulled out of sleep every so often to do so. The further the storm ebbed, the less Alec moved, until he had exhausted himself entirely and fell unconscious in Jace's warm embrace. Somewhere in the midst of pressing a brief kiss to Alec's neck and burying his face in his soft, dark hair, Jace finally drifted off into the all-too-welcome nothingness of sleep.

Even then, his grip on his _parabatai_ did not lessen, remaining resolute until morning, when Maryse made the rounds to wake one of her boys and instead found two.

Though Alec was positive she would make some sort of comment, never once did Maryse breathe a word about it. There was, however, a knowing glance passed between mother and daughter at the breakfast table, and Isabelle quirked a smile, rubbing her older brother's back on the way to rinse her dishes in the sink.

“They grow up so fast,” she lamented aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Alec grunted in reply, immediately on the defensive.

“Oh, nothing. I'm just glad that I finally have one baby brother instead of two.” She snickered as she watched her sibling blanch. Maryse grimaced behind her daughter's back, realizing her momentary eye contact had been completely misinterpreted.

“Watch what you're doing, Isabelle,” Jace droned from the table. “You might get the vestiges of his virginity on those dishes.” As he watched Alec blush brighter than the morning sun, he cackled, interrupted by the sudden need to duck in the face of a literal flying saucer.


End file.
